Who will the Kings turn to as their next head coach? Four names to keep an eye on.

In the middle of its third season, Mike Brown has been fired as head coach of the Sacramento Kings.

Within the organization – at least at the highest level – this was seen as necessary to turn around a 13-18 team that has lost five straight and should be better. The fact that rumors were circulating around the league that De’Aaron Fox might ask for a move out of town certainly increased concerns. Outside the organization, firing the Kings’ only coach to lead the team to the playoffs in the last 18 seasons – largely due to a flawed roster – is exactly the right thing for the franchise.

Who will the Kings turn to for their next coach? It might be next summer before someone is named permanently, but here are four names to keep an eye on.

Two quick notes on this list. First, after firing Brown — and Michael Malone a few years ago, and George Karl — it could be a challenge to bring an experienced coach into what is considered an unstable situation around the league. The Kings may have to overpay if they want a coach with other options. Second, the reality of the NBA is that the best coach is the one De’Aaron Fox wants – as long as he’s willing to re-sign with the team. Talent still wins in the league.

Doug Christie

Doug Christie is a 15-year NBA veteran who spent five seasons in Sacramento and was an assistant coach there for years. He was promoted to interim head coach.

He could be the best guy to keep the job, and he has more than 60% of the season to prove he can get players to step up and do it. He takes over a team that has been unlucky this season, and when the luck turns – when the Kings can start winning close games instead Giving up game-winning four-point plays — Christie seems like the right person to get the job full-time. Christie should be able to connect with Fox, Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and the others. In the big chair he gets the chance to prove that he is the right man for the job.

Micah Nori

Timberwolves senior assistant Chris Finch — the man who took over the big seat when Finch wasn’t with the team — is at the top of the league’s top assistants who deserve a shot at the big chair. Nori was an assistant with the Kings under Michael Malone and is therefore familiar with the organization.

Both the Lakers and Cavaliers interviewed Nori for their head coaching jobs after last season and have interviewed Nori for previous head coaching jobs before that. He deserves one, and the kings would be wise to invite him and talk to him.

Sam Cassell

Another long-time assistant coach who the players love and who deserves his chance – and GMs around the league seem to agree (at least on paper). Sam Cassell, currently Joe Mazzulla’s senior assistant in Boston, was voted the NBA’s top assistant in the 2024-25 NBA GM Poll. Cassell has interviewed for several head coaching jobs over the years (including with the Lakers last offseason), leading some to speculate that he struggled in those interviews. Whatever the reason, Cassell hasn’t landed in the big chair yet, but he deserves his chance.

David Adelman

Like Nori and Cassell, David Adelman is a proven assistant coach in the NBA – currently the Nuggets’ associate head coach under former Kings coach Michael Malone – who deserves his chance. He has earned the respect and support of Nikola Vucevic, who said of Adelman: “I really believe that this DA is the guy to be the next head coach because he has that, I would say ‘head’ as a head coach. “

Last summer, the Lakers, Cavaliers and Hornets all interviewed Adelman before going in a different direction, but someone will give him a chance. He could be the man for the Kings, his father Rick Adelman was the head coach in Sacramento during the best seasons in the organization’s history.